Hard science fiction

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Arthur C. Clarke, one of the most significant writers of hard science fiction Clarke sm.jpg
Arthur C. Clarke, one of the most significant writers of hard science fiction
Poul Anderson, author of Tau Zero, Kyrie and others Poul anderson.jpg
Poul Anderson, author of Tau Zero , Kyrie and others

Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. [1] [2] [3] The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's Islands of Space in the November issue of Astounding Science Fiction . [4] [5] [1] The complementary term soft science fiction, formed by analogy to the popular distinction between the "hard" (natural) and "soft" (social) sciences, [6] first appeared in the late 1970s. Though there are examples generally considered as "hard" science fiction such as Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, built on mathematical sociology, [7] science fiction critic Gary Westfahl argues that while neither term is part of a rigorous taxonomy, they are approximate ways of characterizing stories that reviewers and commentators have found useful. [8]

Contents

History

Frank R. Paul's cover for the last issue (December 1953) of Science-Fiction Plus Science fiction plus 195312.jpg
Frank R. Paul's cover for the last issue (December 1953) of Science-Fiction Plus

Stories revolving around scientific and technical consistency were written as early as the 1870s with the publication of Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas in 1870, among other stories. The attention to detail in Verne's work became an inspiration for many future scientists and explorers, although Verne himself denied writing as a scientist or seriously predicting machines and technology of the future.[ citation needed ]

Hugo Gernsback believed from the beginning of his involvement with science fiction in the 1920s that the stories should be instructive, [10] although it was not long before he found it necessary to print fantastical and unscientific fiction in Amazing Stories to attract readers. [11] During Gernsback's long absence from science fiction (SF) publishing, from 1936 to 1953, the field evolved away from his focus on facts and education. [12] [13] The Golden Age of Science Fiction is generally considered to have started in the late 1930s and lasted until the mid-1940s, bringing with it "a quantum jump in quality, perhaps the greatest in the history of the genre", according to science fiction historians Peter Nicholls and Mike Ashley. [14]

However, Gernsback's views were unchanged. In his editorial in the first issue of Science-Fiction Plus , he gave his view of the modern SF story: "the fairy tale brand, the weird or fantastic type of what mistakenly masquerades under the name of Science-Fiction today!" and he stated his preference for "truly scientific, prophetic Science-Fiction with the full accent on SCIENCE". [13] In the same editorial, Gernsback called for patent reform to give science fiction authors the right to create patents for ideas without having patent models because many of their ideas predated the technical progress needed to develop specifications for their ideas. The introduction referenced the numerous prescient technologies described throughout Ralph 124C 41+ . [15]

Definition

The heart of the "hard science fiction" designation is the relationship of the science content and attitude to the rest of the narrative, and (for some readers, at least) the "hardness" or rigor of the science itself. [16] One requirement for hard SF is procedural or intentional: a story should try to be accurate, logical, credible and rigorous in its use of current scientific and technical knowledge about which technology, phenomena, scenarios and situations that are practically or theoretically possible. For example, the development of concrete proposals for spaceships, space stations, space missions, and a US space program in the 1950s and 1960s influenced a widespread proliferation of "hard" space stories. [17] Later discoveries do not necessarily invalidate the label of hard SF, as evidenced by P. Schuyler Miller, who called Arthur C. Clarke's 1961 novel A Fall of Moondust hard SF, [4] and the designation remains valid even though a crucial plot element, the existence of deep pockets of "moondust" in lunar craters, is now known to be incorrect.

There is a degree of flexibility in how far from "real science" a story can stray before it leaves the realm of hard SF. [18] Hard science fiction authors only include more controversial devices when the ideas draw from well-known scientific and mathematical principles. In contrast, authors writing softer SF use such devices without a scientific basis (sometimes referred to as "enabling devices", since they allow the story to take place). [19]

Readers of "hard SF" often try to find inaccuracies in stories. For example, a group at MIT concluded that the planet Mesklin in Hal Clement's 1953 novel Mission of Gravity would have had a sharp edge at the equator, and a Florida high school class calculated that in Larry Niven's 1970 novel Ringworld the topsoil would have slid into the seas in a few thousand years. [8] Niven fixed these errors in his sequel The Ringworld Engineers , and noted them in the foreword.

Representative works

Larry Niven, author of Ringworld, "Inconstant Moon", "The Hole Man" and others. Larry Niven - Utopiales 2010.jpg
Larry Niven, author of Ringworld , "Inconstant Moon", "The Hole Man" and others.

Arranged chronologically by publication year.

Anthologies

Short stories

Novels

Films and TV shows

Anime / manga

Video games

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Niven</span> American science fiction writer (born 1938)

Laurence van Cott Niven is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel Ringworld won the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. With Jerry Pournelle he wrote The Mote in God's Eye (1974) and Lucifer's Hammer (1977). The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gave him the 2015 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award.

<i>Ringworld</i> 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven

Ringworld is a 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. Ringworld tells the story of Louis Wu and his companions on a mission to the Ringworld, an enormous rotating ring, an alien construct in space 186 million miles in diameter. Niven later wrote three sequel novels and then cowrote, with Edward M. Lerner, four prequels and a final sequel; the five latter novels constitute the Fleet of Worlds series. All the novels in the Ringworld series tie into numerous other books set in Known Space. Ringworld won the Nebula Award in 1970, as well as both the Hugo Award and Locus Award in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military science fiction</span> Military subgenre of science fiction

Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction and military fiction that depicts the use of science fiction technology, including spaceships and weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters who are members of a military organization, usually during a war; occurring sometimes in outer space or on a different planet or planets. It exists in a range of media, including literature, comics, film, television and video games.

"The Cold Equations" is a science fiction short story by American writer Tom Godwin (1915–1980), first published in Astounding Magazine in August 1954. In 1970, the Science Fiction Writers of America selected it as one of the best science-fiction short stories published before 1965, and it was therefore included in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964. It has been widely anthologized and dramatized.

<i>Planet Stories</i> 20th-century American pulp science fiction magazine

Planet Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published by Fiction House between 1939 and 1955. It featured interplanetary adventures, both in space and on some other planets, and was initially focused on a young readership. Malcolm Reiss was editor or editor-in-chief for all of its 71 issues. Planet Stories was launched at the same time as Planet Comics, the success of which probably helped to fund the early issues of Planet Stories. Planet Stories did not pay well enough to regularly attract the leading science fiction writers of the day, but occasionally obtained work from well-known authors, including Isaac Asimov and Clifford D. Simak. In 1952 Planet Stories published Philip K. Dick's first sale, and printed four more of his stories over the next three years.

<i>Wonder Stories</i> American science fiction magazine

Wonder Stories was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, when his media company Experimenter Publishing went bankrupt. Within a few months of the bankruptcy, Gernsback launched three new magazines: Air Wonder Stories, Science Wonder Stories, and Science Wonder Quarterly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David G. Hartwell</span> American fantasy and science fiction publisher, editor, and critic (1941–2016)

David Geddes Hartwell was an American critic, publisher, and editor of thousands of science fiction and fantasy novels. He was best known for work with Signet, Pocket, and Tor Books publishers. He was also noted as an award-winning editor of anthologies. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction describes him as "perhaps the single most influential book editor of the past forty years in the American [science fiction] publishing world".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pluto in fiction</span> Depictions of the dwarf planet

Pluto has appeared in fiction as a setting since shortly after its 1930 discovery, albeit infrequently. It was initially comparatively popular as it was newly discovered and thought to be the outermost object of the Solar System and made more fictional appearances than either Uranus or Neptune, though still far fewer than other planets. Alien life, sometimes intelligent life and occasionally an entire ecosphere, is a common motif in fictional depictions of Pluto. Human settlement appears only sporadically, but it is often either the starting or finishing point for a tour of the Solar System. It has variously been depicted as an originally extrasolar planet, the remnants of a destroyed planet, or entirely artificial. Its moon Charon has also appeared in a handful of works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asteroids in fiction</span>

Asteroids have appeared in fiction since at least the late 1800s, the first one—Ceres—having been discovered in 1801. They were initially only used infrequently as writers preferred the planets as settings. The once-popular Phaëton hypothesis, which states that the asteroid belt consists of the remnants of the former fifth planet that existed in an orbit between Mars and Jupiter before somehow being destroyed, has been a recurring theme with various explanations for the planet's destruction proposed. This hypothetical former planet is in science fiction often called "Bodia" in reference to Johann Elert Bode, for whom the since-discredited Titius–Bode law that predicts the planet's existence is named.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uranus in fiction</span>

Uranus has been used as a setting in works of fiction since shortly after its 1781 discovery, albeit infrequently. The earliest depictions portrayed it as having a solid surface, whereas later stories portrayed it more accurately as a gaseous planet. Its moons have also appeared in a handful of works. Both the planet and its moons have experienced a slight trend of increased representation in fiction over time.

Kathryn Elizabeth Cramer is an American science fiction writer, editor, and literary critic.

<i>Science-Fiction Plus</i> American science fiction magazine

Science-Fiction Plus was an American science fiction magazine published by Hugo Gernsback for seven issues in 1953. In 1926, Gernsback had launched Amazing Stories, the first science fiction magazine, but he had not been involved in the genre since 1936, when he sold Wonder Stories. Science-Fiction Plus was initially in slick format, meaning that it was large-size and printed on glossy paper. Gernsback had always believed in the educational power of science fiction, and he continued to advocate his views in the new magazine's editorials. The managing editor, Sam Moskowitz, had been a reader of the early pulp magazines, and published many writers who had been popular before World War II, such as Raymond Z. Gallun, Eando Binder, and Harry Bates. Combined with Gernsback's earnest editorials, the use of these early writers gave the magazine an anachronistic feel.

<i>The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF</i> 1994 anthology of short stories compiled by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer

The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF is a definitive 1994 anthology of hard science fiction (sf) short stories compiled by the award-winning editing team of David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer. This 990-page book includes 68 stories, each prefaced by a brief note to describe facts about the author, related works, or the logic of the story's inclusion in the genre. In addition, the book opens with three essays about the meaning and the boundaries of hard science fiction. The editors further explored these issues in The Hard SF Renaissance (2002).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soft science fiction</span> Sub-genre of science fiction emphasizing "soft" sciences or human emotions

Soft science fiction, or soft SF, is a category of science fiction with two different definitions, in contrast to hard science fiction. It explores the "soft" sciences, as opposed to the "hard" sciences. It can also refer to science fiction which prioritizes human emotions over scientific accuracy or plausibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space opera</span> Subgenre of science fiction

Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and social advancements in faster-than-light travel, futuristic weapons, and sophisticated technology, on a backdrop of galactic empires and interstellar wars with fictional aliens, often in fictional galaxies. The term does not refer to opera music, but instead originally referred to the melodrama, scope, and formulaic stories of operas, much as used in "horse opera", a 1930s phrase for a clichéd and formulaic Western film, and "soap opera", a melodramatic domestic drama. Space operas emerged in the 1930s and continue to be produced in literature, film, comics, television, video games and board games.

<i>Scientific Detective Monthly</i> US pulp science fiction magazine

Scientific Detective Monthly was a pulp magazine that published fifteen issues beginning in January 1930. It was launched by Hugo Gernsback as part of his second venture into science-fiction magazine publishing, and was intended to focus on detective and mystery stories with a scientific element. Many of the stories involved contemporary science without any imaginative elements—for example, a story in the first issue turned on the use of a bolometer to detect a black girl blushing—but there were also one or two science fiction stories in every issue.

A list of works by, or about, the American science fiction author Larry Niven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space travel in science fiction</span> Fictional methods, e.g. antigravity, hyperdrive

Space travel, or space flight is a science fiction theme that has captivated the public and is almost archetypal for science fiction. Space travel, interplanetary or interstellar, is usually performed in space ships, and spacecraft propulsion in various works ranges from the scientifically plausible to the totally fictitious.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact events in fiction</span>

Impact events have been a recurring theme in fiction since the 1800s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Westfahl, Gary (1996). "Introduction". Cosmic Engineers: A Study of Hard Science Fiction . Greenwood Press. p.  2. ISBN   0-313-29727-4. hard science fiction ... the term was first used by P. Schuyler Miller in 1957
  2. ↑ Nicholls, Peter (1995). Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN   978-0-312-13486-0.
  3. ↑ Wolfe, Gary K. (1986). Critical terms for science fiction and fantasy: a glossary and guide to scholarship. Greenwood Press. ISBN   978-0-313-22981-7.
  4. 1 2 "hard science fiction n." Science fiction citations. Jesse's word. 2005-07-25. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-10-07. Earliest cite: P. Schuyler Miller in Astounding Science Fiction ... he called A Fall of Moondust "hard" science fiction
  5. ↑ Hartwell, David G.; Cramer, Kathryn (2003). "Introduction: New People, New Places, New Politics". The Hard SF Renaissance: An Anthology. Tom Doherty Associates. ISBN   978-1-4299-7517-9.
  6. ↑ "soft science fiction n." Science fiction citations. Jesse's word. 2005-07-25. Retrieved 2007-10-07. Soft science fiction, probably a back-formation from Hard Science Fiction)
  7. ↑ Clayton, David (1986). "What Makes Hard Science Fiction "Hard"?". In Seiters, Dan (ed.). Hard Science Fiction. Southern Illinois University Press. pp. 58–69. ISBN   0809312344.
  8. 1 2 Westfahl, Gary (June 9, 2008). "Hard Science Fiction". In Seed, David (ed.). A Companion to Science Fiction. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 195–8. ISBN   978-0-470-79701-3.
  9. ↑ Ashley (2005), p. 381.
  10. ↑ Ashley (2000), p. 50.
  11. ↑ Ashley (2000), p. 54.
  12. ↑ Ashley (2004), p. 252.
  13. 1 2 Lawler (1985), pp. 541–545.
  14. ↑ Nicholls, Peter; Ashley, Mike (April 9, 2015). "Golden Age of SF". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction . Gollancz. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Science Fiction Plus v01n01". March 1953.
  16. ↑ Samuelson, David N. (July 1993). "Modes of Extrapolation: The Formulas of Hard Science Fiction". Science Fiction Studies. 20. part 2 (60). Retrieved 2007-10-07.
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  18. ↑ Westfahl, G. (July 1993). "'The Closely Reasoned Technological Story': The Critical History of Hard Science Fiction". Science Fiction Studies. 20 (2). SF-TH Inc: 157–175. JSTOR   4240246.
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  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hartwell, David G.; Cramer, Kathryn, eds. (1994). The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF. New York: Published by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. ISBN   978-0-312-85509-3. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Hartwell, David G.; Cramer, Kathryn (2002). The Hard SF Renaissance . New York: Tor. ISBN   0-312-87635-1.
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  24. ↑ Clayton, David (1986). "What Makes Hard Science Fiction "Hard"?". In Seiters, Dan (ed.). Hard Science Fiction. Southern Illinois University Press. pp.  58–69. ISBN   0809312344.
  25. ↑ Huntington, John (1986). "Hard-Core Science Fiction and the Illusion of Science". In Seiters, Dan (ed.). Hard Science Fiction. Southern Illinois University Press. pp.  45–57. ISBN   0809312344.
  26. 1 2 3 4 Benford, Gregory (1986). "Is There a Technological Fix for the Human Condition?". In Seiters, Dan (ed.). Hard Science Fiction. Southern Illinois University Press. pp.  70–81. ISBN   0809312344.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 Gunn, James (1986). "The Readers of Hard Science Fiction". In Seiters, Dan (ed.). Hard Science Fiction. Southern Illinois University Press. pp.  82–98. ISBN   0809312344.
  28. 1 2 3 Brin, David (1986). "Running Out of Speculative Niches: A Crisis for Hard SF?". In Seiters, Dan (ed.). Hard Science Fiction. Southern Illinois University Press. pp.  8–13. ISBN   0809312344.
  29. ↑ "The Book Institute has supported the Portuguese translation of Stanislaw Lem's novel "Niezwyciężony"". instytutksiazki.pl. Instytut Książki. 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-08-05. The novel 'The Invincible' can certainly be classed as one of Stanislaw Lem's most important works. It is also a rather special novel in his oeuvre - falling into the hard science fiction genre, where there is a strong emphasis on science and technology issues.
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  31. ↑ Aylott, Chris. "The Humans Were Flat but the Cheela Were Charming in 'Dragon's Egg'". Space.com . Archived from the original on 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2009-01-27. Some editions also include a preface by Larry Niven, admitting that "I couldn't have written it; it required too much real physics"
  32. ↑ Alyott, Chris (2000-06-20). "The Vanishing Martian". SPACE.com. Archived from the original on 2000-08-18. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  33. ↑ Horton, Richard R. (1997-02-21). "Blue Mars review". Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  34. ↑ "Schild's Ladder".
  35. ↑ Jon Courtenay Grimwood (2005-11-05). "Cold comforts". The Guardian.
  36. ↑ Steiner, Philip (2022-10-31). "Modern Hard SF: Simulating Physics in Virtual Reality in Cixin Liu's "The Three-Body Problem"". Lublin Studies in Modern Languages and Literature. 46 (3): 57–66. doi:10.17951/lsmll.2022.46.3.57-66. ISSN   2450-4580.
  37. ↑ "The Martian by Andy Weir: Superb Hard Science Fiction Storytelling". Sequart Organization. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  38. ↑ Nevala-Lee, Alec (2021-05-05). "Alone on a Spaceship, Trying to Save the World - The New York Times". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  39. 1 2 3 4 5 "Contemplate Your Place in the Universe with Hard Sci-Fi Film Classics!". 17 November 2014.
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  41. ↑ "23 Best Hard Science Fiction Books – The Best Science Fiction Books". 28 February 2015.
  42. ↑ "Unveiling the top 10 hard Sci-Fi movies: From '2001: A Space Odyssey' to Sunshine". The Economic Times. 26 November 2023.
  43. ↑ Woerner, Meredith (June 28, 2013). "How Real Scientists Shaped the Story of Europa Report". Gizmodo .
  44. 1 2 "9 Surprisingly Accurate Hard Sci-Fi Movies That You Can Stream Tonight". 2 October 2020.
  45. ↑ Dilks, Andrew (2018-11-16). "15 Greatest Hard Science Fiction Movies Of All Time". WhatCulture.com. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  46. 1 2 Ruh, B. (2004). Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii. Springer. p. 77. ISBN   978-1-4039-8279-7.
  47. ↑ Ashford, Sage (November 25, 2019). "10 Best Sci-Fi Anime Of All Time". CBR.com .
  48. ↑ McFerran, Damien (2023-01-13). "Hideo Kojima Reflects On The Policenauts Sequel That Never Happened". Time Extension. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  49. ↑ Carter, Tim (April 1999). "Review - Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri". Computer Gaming World . No. 177. Ziff Davis. p. 208. PROS: Wonderful "hard" sci-fi setting
  50. ↑ Cachinero-Gorman, Alex (4 May 2017). "Alpha Centauri". Hardcore Gaming 101 . Retrieved 11 November 2023. [...] Reynolds and his team worked tirelessly to imbue every inch of their game with the cool, atmospheric melancholy so dear to hard sci-fi.
  51. ↑ Bolding, Jon (2022-09-26). "Terra Invicta Early Access Review". IGN. Retrieved 2022-11-14.

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